Sunday Salon | Book Chatter

My Reading

Happy Sunday! Today is all about relaxing because I made the mistake of going to the mall yesterday to do a little shopping. Good lord! I have no patience for that stuff anymore. People were friendly. Actually, I was surprised how friendly the store clerks were given the amount of people they were assisting, but I was in a foul mood and it just got worse from there.

I hate how regular products are repackaged for Christmas and then marked up a dollar or two just because it’s Christmas. I wore the wrong shoes which made the entire experience more painful and I only picked up one gift, and I was there for over three hours. That’s right. I got overwhelmed with the glitz and the volume of everything. Stores so full of merchandise and people, that I literally could not walk from point A to point B.

I love LUSH, but their stores are too small to have more than ten people working the floor. I need to go back at night, during the week to pick-up what I need because I could not even get to the shelf. But everyone was as happy and perky as can be when they asked me no less than five times if I needed help. Not their fault that I had a case of the grumps.

The holidays, gotta love them.

Oh, and it’s been so cold here!! The mornings have been about 30 degrees and last night, when I left the mall a gust of wind took my breath away. It was so cold. It sort of felt good after being in that stuffy mall but I could not get to the car fast enough.

By the way, I forgot to buy coffee creamer while out so this morning I am without creamer again.

Sunday Salon

What am I reading?

From the photo above, you can see that I am still reading The Abominable. I love it and now I am just prolonging the inevitable, the end of it. It’s a great adventure book but given that it takes place on Mount Everest and the characters brave below freezing temps, I find myself shivering and reaching for my blanket every time I read it. I wonder if it would have the same effect on me if I had read it over the summer months?

What am I cooking?

At the request of The Teen, I am making Potato Cheese soup tonight but guess what? He won’t be here to eat it because he just offered to work a holiday dinner event. That kid is a “yes” man. He needs to learn how to say No. I am hoping to make a big enough batch to eat it more than once this week. Tonight, we’ll pair it with a nice, leafy salad to round it out.

Click on the photo to see the recipe.

What am I watching?

Well, it’s that time of the year. We watched Deck the Halls with Matthew Broderick and I may watch The Family Stone later today. I really wanted to watch White Christmas with a group on Twitter yesterday but the timing didn’t work for me, given that I am on the West coast.

The other day, I heard about CBS airing the lost Christmas episode of I Love Lucy along with her Italian movie episode where she stomped on the grapes. Remember that one? Well on 12/20 both episodes will air in color? Will you watch? I prefer B&W but to see the lost episode for the first time? Yes, I plan to record it. We will be at Disneyland that day so I will have to wait until the next day to see it.

Click here to see a preview. Is it me, or do they look better in color?

My post is late today because I forgot it was Sunday! That’s what happens after having a week off. Man, just the thought of going to work tomorrow is enough to make me drink. Almost.

Once I got the obligatory doctor’s appointments out-of-the-way, the week was very nice. I seriously do not know why I feel the need to book appointments during my vacation but it always works out that way. But, once they were over and done with, I settled in to cooking, reading and listening to Christmas music. All was right with the world.

I did not go shopping on Thanksgiving.

I did not go shopping the day AFTER Thanksgiving.

Nope, I did not do any of it. Instead, I sat on the couch and read Sputnik Sweetheart for #readingsputnik and I think it’s my favorite Murakami thus far and I’ve nearly read them all now. I think the only one I have not read is A Wild Sheep Chase. Man, Sputnik Sweetheart was really good and just what I needed to get the reading mojo back in full swing.

Those who read it with me, what did you think? I have to write my review up but I am still thinking about the story.

What am I reading?

I am now rushing to finish The Abominable. I’ve been reading it for awhile now but it’s due on Tuesday and so I have to really pick up the pace It’s very good and I am enjoying it a lot but I still haven’t gotten to the scary bits. That Simmons! He sure takes awhile to build up the story.

What am I cooking?

Oh my goodness. I am so sick of cooking that we are picking up Thai food tonight. I am sick of food yet at the same time starving for it. That’s what happens when you eat a lot of high fat foods when you are not used to eating them. You crave them and yet your body can’t deal with them.

How did the meal turn out? Pretty darn good but those gluten-free rolls could double as boulders in my garden. Add them to the list of Pinterest fails! My daughter even asked if I had cooked them since they were still lily-white when I took them out. Everything else was great but after cooking and tasting all day long, I didn’t want any of it by the time I put it on the table.

What am I watching?

I have been watching a lot of movies since U-verse had all of their movie channels for free this weekend. I watched the Oz movie with Franco and it was pretty good. I watched Tootsie and Mannequin and Love Actually. I also watched hours and hours of I Love Lucy, Seinfeld and Roseanne. I did watch Christmas Vacation but must watch it again as I was in full cooking mode while it was on.

Tonight is the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead, so I will be glued, literally GLUED to the TV later.

On a sad note, Paul Walker, the actor from the Fast and Furious movies died in a car crash after a charity event he was attending close to where I live. It’s been all over the news but given that the wreck happened so close to me, I am especially sad for him and his family. The irony of it all is especially unsettling, isn’t it?

That’s all I have. I hope you all had a wonderful week and that this upcoming week is kind to all of us.

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